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It’s that time of year again, time to “fall back”, time to reset your clocks and watches back one hour, time to give up a bit of daylight in the afternoon and gain a bit of daylight in the morning. It happens at 2 AM on Sunday, November 5th–like anyone stays up to 2 AM […]

I was recently given a book, Coffee Gives Me Superpowers (Iwata, Ryoko, 2016, Kansas City, MO, Hallmark Gift Books) which has an interesting section taken from a psychological study on how the way you drink your coffee shows certain personality traits. According to the study, if you are a black coffee drinker, you are straightforward. Latte? A people-pleaser. Cappuccino? […]

When we drill a new borehole or rehab a broken one, the response is almost always the same. “Thank you for the water, thank you for loving us.” It’s simple, yet poignant. Here, in Pittsburgh, we get caught up in “stuff” which obscures what’s really important. Life can get complicated and we are forgetful of where […]

It’s a major event in the life of a Ugandan village when they get a new borehole. It means so much to their health, lifestyle and success as a village. However, that is not the end of the story. Africa is littered with broken boreholes–by some estimates more than half of the boreholes are unusable. […]

I receive a calendar that lists every national “day” throughout the year. As I write this on Thursday, May 4th, it is National Hoagie Day. I do not know who designates these selections, but it seems like everyone and everything has its special day. Some do not make sense to me, like May 30th being […]

The first Earth Day was April 22, 1970–almost 50 years ago. I think we take it for granted today and we ignore the effects of our everyday decisions on this fragile planet. Life is a gift; we didn’t do anything to earn it or deserve it. With the gift comes responsibility–good stewardship of the life we’ve […]

When I was growing up in Massachusetts, the winter was always cold and the ground snow-covered. March would eventually come, still snow-covered and cold, but there would be a day or two toward the end of March and the beginning of April where there was a hint of springtime in the air. My dad drove […]

During our recent visit to Uganda, we spent one day at a Displaced Persons Camp, a DPC. These people were part of a tribe which had been removed from land they had lived on which was due to be developed. As they didn’t own the land, they have been removed to a site nearby. […]

Do you ever get the feeling that you just don’t know how to celebrate well? Do you wonder what you’re missing out on? Watching some of the workers dance at a recent coffee farm celebration made me acutely aware that celebration is something I do poorly if I do it at all. Taking time out […]

Just for today, since it’s World Water Day, take a little extra care on how you use this precious, life-giving resource. Simple ways to conserve include turning off the water while you brush your teeth, wash your hands or wash your hair. Take short showers instead of a bath. Do not run the dishwasher unless […]